Strasenburgh Planetarium

Most of the exhibits seemed old and outdated. Also the show I saw left a lot to be desired. I thought I was going to see something a bit more… spectacular. Yes the show was just some guy on a mic recalling what the sky will look like tonight… Maybe I’m too used to the NYC planetarium, which BLOWS this one away. It was boring at best but great for kids.

We used the planetarium for our wedding ceremony, as my new husband and I wanted something out of the norm and memorable.
The price was steep-​1200. I tried to negotiate and it was a total no go. I was ready to walk away from it when my way too romantic husband was sooooo taken with the idea of a wedding under the stars that well… hello empty bank account.
It ended up being the best money we spent during the wedding planning process. SO FREAKIN’ WORTH IT. The staff there was incredible, prompt with communication– sometimes even flagging ME down when I was forgetting to do something!- and just genuinely happy to accommodate us in almost any way.
My only complaints are that they wouldn’t give us a 5pm start time for our Friday night wedding. We ended up having to start at 530 and that pushed the timing for the night. There are also no good places to take pictures in there and if you don’t come with a plan, you won’t get pictures. We planned to do some inside and it’s a definite no– wayyyyy too dark. We ended up taking some outside, but since it was March, we didn’t last long in the cold.
Beyond that, it was perfection. I am as anti-​wedding as it comes, but I would do the ceremony over and over again. Even the rehearsal was fun and SO WELL ORGANIZED!
Thank you to AnitaJoan, Rosana and the rest of the staff whose names I have forgotten. You guys put on one hell of a show for us and we are so happy with the outcome!

Sun, Moon, Star — Even though it was for kids, it could have been more informational. You can get the same type of stuff from YouTube for free. At least they could have shown the solar system and how the whole thing are connected. Maybe I’ll have to check out the Saturday Night Sky show.

I «heart» the planetarium since I was a little kid. The bad news is the planetarium is STILL like it was when you were a little kid. It is in need of a MAJOR over-​hull. Never the less, it is still a classic to bring a date too for a late night under the stars. The best time to see the planetarium is on a Saturday Night were you get to climb to the top of the observatory to see the stars, and the moon. There are a variety of telescopes to see through once you get to the top, and the instructors are very informative on telling you what exactly you are looking at. I never knew how bright the moon was till I looked at it through the observatory telescope.
Before you go into the main auditorium, take some time to explore the inter-​active exhibits about space around the planetarium. Unfortunately, there used to be A LOT more interactive exhibits. Each time I go now, they either seem to be gone or not working. I wonder if their are budget issues, as to why they are not fixing or adding new space exhibits? The tunnel of space is always a treat to walk into, all the holographic pictures of the planets and stars gives you a great overview of our universe. In the back of the planetarium is the virtual space station, where you can be a part of a simulated command center take-​off of a spaceship. I got the pleasure to try on one of the space coats when I was there, but the size was too small for me, and it ripped a little (oops).
The main event of course is the actual planetarium show! Personally I love going to the laser shows, but there hasn’t been any new ones in ages. The 90’s, and the Holiday Laser all have music that are severely outdated. Out of all the 90’s music, you have to keep playing us songs we don’t even know or care to listen too!!! The lasers are cool, giving you a «trippy» experience if you sat in the right spot. The fog, with the lasers going brings in a different touch to the arena as well. Again, I do not know how many more dates I have to torture myself on by bringing them to the planetarium where its ALWAYS the same show for me. I might have to mix it up by going to the Dinosaur Show now.
Overall: Rooftop Telescope, Tunnel of Space, Limited Inter-​Active Exhibits, Virtual Command Center, Outdated Bad Music, Cool old school Lasers, The Fog Machine, and a Night Under the Stars… yes of course I will be back (with a date for a different SHOW hopefully).

Go and see a 90s laser show and tour the planetarium beforehand! Afterwards, they have a giant telescope on the roof and you usually can spot a planet.
Definitely not the best planetarium, but a nice gem to add to museum row in rochester

I had some time to kill on a Saturday afternoon, so I decided to go with a good friend here for Grand Canyon Adventure. The planetarium is not bad, but don’t expect too much.
I guess compared to the grandeur of the theaters back home, this place is homey, but limited. The visuals reminded me of the ‘80s when I first started watching IMAX at the Museum of Science in Boston for school field trips (yes, I am old).
The movie itself was interesting, though it was just a glorified PSA to conserve water and to consider dams as dam environmental travesties. I wish they had more epic visuals of the Canyon itself. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about water conservation (newer toilet, newer shower head are proofs), but I was expecting something different. The semi-​mellow music of the Dave Matthews Band brought back the days when every Caucasian student in my high school loved the group.
There are some small exhibits outside of the planetarium that are of some interest. Don’t forget to pee before you enter your show or else it’s going to be a rather painful dilemma in deciding whether to hold it or forfeit your ticket.

I can here recently with my husband to see a show. It was fun and something different to do. We saw the amazing journey’s show and it was very interesting. You can tell the video is very old though and could use an update — really the whole place could use an update.
There were some cool displays in the lobby and surrounding area but a lot of them weren’t working.
My husband and I want to go again to actually see a constellation film and for the laser light show. Maybe after I see those I will have a different feel for it but since I did not grow up in Rochester, I have no special place in my heart for the planetarium.
I will come back for other shows but for something unique to do, this won’t make it to the top of my list.

I have a soft spot for the planetarium. I would probably give it five stars for nostalgia’s sake, but I’m going to be realistic here. It hasn’t changed one bit since I visited back in the 5^th grade. Regardless, there are fun shows and it can be pretty cool to go to some of the laser light shows and test out the cool activities in the lobby-​esque area.
A couple years ago, I went to a concert here and it was probably the coolest show I’ve ever been to solely because it was at the planetarium. The band put together their own slideshows to play with each song along with the spinning stars. I think this is a sweet spot for future events at the venue so we’ll see if they swing it again.
Most recently, I went to the Beatles laser light show. At the start it reminded me of the old Windows 98 laser screensaver. Although it got a little cooler when they showed some photos and played recordings of fans and news segments on the insane popularity of the Beatles back in the day. Of course, the music was spectacular, but it’s the Beatles. Definitely worth a visit for $ 7 bucks.